"One day a little boy came up, he must have been about four and he saw me taking off my (prosthetic) legs and he started with the 'why' questions, you know, 'why haven't you got any legs', etc. And I said 'have you heard of The Little Mermaid?' and he said 'yes' and I said 'I'm a mermaid' and he got this look on his face and he said 'wow that's cool' and ran off to tell his dad.

I'll have to turn up to that beach again sometime with my tail - just in case he's there."

My first impulse was to post THIS IS AWESOME AND I WANT IT. I quickly realized that while it is in fact awesome, I am pretty damned fond of my legs and would prefer to keep them, but, you know, if something truly unfortunate should ever come up, it's great that WETA has developed an alternative.

Undulating through the water with your legs together mermaid-fashion (the dolphin kick) can be fun while you're scuba-diving, and it feels very efficient, but my scuba tank always gets uncomfortable pretty quickly if I do that.posted by Countess Elena at 4:29 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

Very cool. Walking around Wellington over the last few years it's been pretty great watching Weta Workshop sculptures and etc. pop up round town, but this is another level. It's FUNCTIONING for fuck's sake!posted by doublehappy at 4:31 PM on April 5, 2011

Morbid question: what condition exactly causes legs to not develop properly to the point where they must be amputated?posted by Xany at 4:34 PM on April 5, 2011

Why does Bono have to insert himself into every damn thing, is what I want to know.posted by everichon at 4:41 PM on April 5, 2011 [6 favorites]

She's lucky that it was pro bono, 'cos I hear those things can cost an arm and a leg.posted by robotot at 4:45 PM on April 5, 2011 [6 favorites]

Interesting. This implies that the exchange rate for arms and legs is the same.posted by localroger at 4:49 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]

Wow! I recommend watching the videos; there's some great footage of her swimming out to sea.posted by Nixy at 5:10 PM on April 5, 2011

Weta Digital didn't make this since they're a digital effects company; it was Weta Workshop, who do all the practical props / puppets / makeup for the same sort of jobs.

Interestingly during Avatar there was another satellite design / build shop also based in Wellington doing a lot of the prop etc work on that film, who had to keep stamping their work with "NOT designed by Weta" since everybody just assumed Weta Workshop had done it.

The word I've always heard is that Richard Taylor loooooooves Weta Workshop but really doesn't care too much about Weta Digital, despite being a front man in many peoples' eye for both outfits.posted by John Shaft at 5:15 PM on April 5, 2011

she paid for the materials with a grant she got from Kerr-Taylor Foundation Trust, so they should get some credit too.posted by sineater at 5:21 PM on April 5, 2011

what condition exactly causes legs to not develop properly to the point where they must be amputated?

When I was a kid I'd planned to get my limbs amputated when I grew up and replace them with better robot limbs. I still sorta want to do that.posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 6:42 PM on April 5, 2011 [3 favorites]

Okay kiwis, time to get to work on that Wolverine claw thing. Someone On The Internet needs it.posted by Paragon at 7:12 PM on April 5, 2011 [4 favorites]

I wonder if this tail is more or less effective as a form of locomotion compared to these tourist-attraction mermaids?

Or even compared to a good set of scuba flippers? Having two independently articulated legs ending in a flexible large surface area flipper could conceivably impart better low-speed agility but if that was the case why don't fish/aquatic mammals have two tails instead of just the one? Tradeoff for speed (hydrodynamism) vs. flexibility of agility?posted by porpoise at 7:19 PM on April 5, 2011

Dear Childhood Self,

Hang in there. Sometimes the future is just as awesome as you think it will be.

love,
Yourself in the Future, Where We Have Real Mermaids (But You Don't Want to Be One Anymore, Because Legs and Land Based Locomotion Both Turn Out to Be Pretty Cool After All)posted by byanyothername at 7:27 PM on April 5, 2011 [4 favorites]

Well, I was completely taken with the Six Million Dollar Man as a tween, so I completely get the cyborg fantasy, even knowing that you can't just stick a few superhuman limbs on a human body and get true superhuman strength and speed.

Well, I was completely taken with the Six Million Dollar Man as a tween, so I completely get the cyborg fantasy, even knowing that you can't just stick a few superhuman limbs on a human body and get true superhuman strength and speed.

I'd settle for just normal human strenght.
Yes, i'd rather undergo a series of painful operations rather than exercise. What of it? When I was a kid I assumed all my health problems would be solved with a combination of cybernetics, genetic engineering, and organ transplants.posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 12:05 AM on April 6, 2011

I wonder if this tail is more or less effective as a form of locomotion compared to these tourist-attraction mermaids?

The WETA tail has a stiff fin and reinforcement up its 'spine' which would help the wearer propel herself significantly more effectively than the floppy fabric Weekiwachee costumes.

Her suit is similar in design to a monofin (except with monofins, the wearer's leg bones provide the lengthwise reinforcement) which are popular with freedivers because they require much less energy to power than bi-fins.

Having two independently articulated legs ending in a flexible large surface area flipper could conceivably impart better low-speed agility but if that was the case why don't fish/aquatic mammals have two tails instead of just the one?

If you think of aquatic mammals that excel in underwater agility, they do have two flippers in back but primary propulsion comes from the front flippers. The rear flippers are used for stabilization/steering. This works out well for sea lions, an animal that engages in relatively short foraging trips in the water chasing down agile prey in complicated cover.

Whales and dolphins reverse that[warning: cloying soundtrack]: propulsion comes from the tail flukes, front flippers are used for stabilization/steering. For 100% aquatic mammals, it's all about energy-efficient forward movement and for the carnivores, speed.

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